Digital Preservation In Institutional Repositories In Namibian Academic Libraries: A Case Study Of The Namibia University Of Science And Technology (Nust) And The University Of Namibia (Unam)

ABSTRACT

This study investigated long-term digital preservation activities in Institutional

Repositories (IRs) digital contents at Namibian academic libraries (Namibia University

of Science and Technology (NUST) and University of Namibia (UNAM)). The study

intended to determine the procedures and policies which are governing and

safeguarding intellectual knowledge preserved within IRs; to ensure long-term future

access as well as skills, support required and challenges encountered. A qualitative

research approach with a semi-structured interview guide was used to collect data, an

observation method was additionally used to gather data on IR digital preservation

policies at NUST and UNAM. The study’s population comprised of the NUST and

UNAM officials, including IT support officials, librarians, faculty journal editors as

well as the Research and Publication officers. A total number of 14 participants were

purposefully selected as key informants from NUST and UNAM.

The findings from this study revealed that, short-term preservation strategies such as

conducting regular backups, system/software upgrades and maintenance as well as

using open file formats i.e. PDF are the main techniques used at NUST and UNAM.

The study also discovered a significant lack of knowledge amongst staff members on

the concept of long-term digital preservation. Furthermore, the study revealed that the

aspect of policies and guidelines has not received comprehensive attention at both

institutions. Challenges such as lack of training and skills; lack of funds; lack of longterm

preservation practices; and a lack of IR policies to safeguard long-term

preservation were also identified.

The study therefore concluded that the current measures established by NUST and

UNAM will not guarantee long-term preservation and access to current stored digital

content. The study further concluded that there is an urgent need for NUST and UNAM

to immediately address the current challenges hampering long-term digital preservation

practices to ensure continuous access and preserve institution’s intellectual knowledge

output. The study recommends comprehensive training and education on long-term

digital preservation for information professionals, it further recommend the two

institutions to develop comprehensive IR policies and for them to explore various longterm

digital preservation techniques to ensure future access to IR stored digital content.